These are the good times. This is the good stuff. Sometime in the next couple of days — maybe as early as Tuesday — the Yankees are going to win a baseball game, something they’ve done 59 percent of the time they’ve taken a ballfield this year.
When that happens, the magic number will melt away to zero. The players will storm the field after the final out and will then retreat to the clubhouse, goggles at the ready, to participate in the ages-old tradition of dousing each other with as much champagne as they can fit in the home-team clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, right behind the first-base dugout.
Maybe, if the fans are so inclined, they can fire up an old classic chant, and let that serve as a complimentary soundtrack for the evening, riding shotgun to The Chairman crooning about his little town blues, all melting away:
“We’re Number One!
“We’re Number One!
“We’re Number One!”
That would be a fine thing to hear, because when the Yankees win their next baseball game, they will officially clinch first place in the American League’s Eastern Division. And that is still important. Even in a time where there are far more second- and third-place finishers who qualify for playoff berths in North American sports than first-place teams, first place still says something.
First place still matters.
It mattered to the Rangers when they finished in first place in the Metropolitan Division last spring. You can believe it would matter to the Jets, who have finished in first place exactly twice in 54 years. The Mets have gotten a lot of attention for their gritty run at a playoff bid; you can believe they’d prefer to have held a few of those ninth-inning leads they squandered in May and June, which would’ve given them a reasonable chance to catch the Phillies for first place in the NL East.
Even around the Yankees, this should still matter. Yes, we know: the Yankees measure success in championships. It’s part of the team’s mission statement, and if you ever forget all you need to do is hop on the phone with the Yankees fan of your choice when things don’t turn out right in October, the way they haven’t turned out right in 15 years.
You know what?
If you’re a Yankees fan, worry about October in October. Let September be for savoring. Let the 91st win, which will officially relegate the Orioles to the crapshoot two-out-of-three play-in series, be a time to enjoy what we’ve seen across the bulk of these last six months.
It was Col. Jacob Ruppert, the first imperial owner of the Yankees, who once declared, “The perfect afternoon at Yankee Stadium? It’s when the Yankees score eight runs in the first inning and then slowly pull away.” That’s the way a lot of Yankees seasons have gone through the years. Take over first place in May, then slowly pull away.
This one was different. This one had a nice easy start and then a good 100 games when you weren’t quite sure about the Yankees, stretches where you wondered if they were on cruise control or simply not very good. It was at these moments — and there were a few — that Aaron Boone would break out his greatest hits …
“We have the guys in that room to get it done …”
“It’s all right there in front of us …”
“These guys are fighters …”
And there would be eyerolls and groans galore. And you know what? He was right. The Yankees did have enough. It was all there in front of them, even on July 9, when they fell four games behind Baltimore in the loss column, even later when the only reason they weren’t even farther behind was because the long season caught up to the Orioles, too.
He was right, and when the Yankees win their next game that will make three first-place finishes for Boone, who a lot of Yankees fans look at as a cross between Rich Kotite and Joe Judge sometimes.
And Brian Cashman, the other organizational piñata? He made the trade for Jazz Chisholm Jr. that changed everything for the Yankees. For the record, this is his 27th year and the Yankees have finished in first place 15 times.
Sure: in a few weeks, if this doesn’t lead to the Canyon of Heroes, little of that will be remembered. You don’t see a lot of Rangers fans walking around with “2024 Presidents’ Trophy Winners” T-shirts. The Yankees, better than anyone, understand that there are no medals for trying.
So worry about that then. For now, when the next win arrives and the next first-place finish is secure — the 50th first-place finish in team history, for those who like round numbers — do yourself a favor: Take a deep breath. Think about what a ride it’s been across 162 games. Maybe crack both a smile and a cold one if you’re of a mood.
“We’re Number One” is still the sweetest chant in all of sports, after all.
